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Motions

Please Note: due to the Pre-Election Period, it is not possible to publish motions until after the General Election. Motions will be published on Friday 5 July.

 

Under the Council’s constitution, 30 minutes are available for the consideration of motions. In practice, this realistically means that there is usually only time for one, or possibly two motions to be considered.

 

With the agreement of the Lord Mayor, motion 1 below will be considered at this meeting, and motion 2 is likely to be considered, subject to time.

 

Details of other motions submitted, (which, due to time constraints, are very unlikely to be considered at this meeting) are also set out for information.

 

GOLDEN MOTION (Green): Ending local government austerity and investing in local public services

 

This Council notes that:

  • Government grants to local authorities were cut by 40% in real terms between 2009/10 and 2019/20, from £46.5bn to £28.0bn. 
  • As a result, between 2010 and 2019, more than £30 billion in spending reductions (often termed austerity measures) were made to welfare payments, housing subsidies and social services in the UK
  • These austerity measures have contributed to 335,000 excess deaths, resulted in a fall in the UK life expectancy, and culminated in UK workers being £11,000 worse off a year after years of wage stagnation.
  • At the same time, there has been a huge surge in demand for vital services provided by local authorities, such as adult social care, which takes up about three-quarters of Local Authority budgets. 
  • Spending on social care grew by an average of 2.6% a year in real terms between 2014/15 and 2021/22. 
  • This is less than the 3.4% a year increase in spending that the Health Foundation has calculated will be needed between 2024/25 and 2032/33 to meet future demand. This is equal to £8.3 billion overall.
  • The National Audit Office has recognised that the pressure on local authority finances “impacts on the funding available for adult social care”.
  • Bristol City Council signed up to the Ethical Care Charter in 2021. 
  • As a result of decreased funding and increased demand for services, since 2021 six local authorities have declared themselves effectively bankrupt, with many councils, including Bristol, warning they may have to do the same.
  • The Labour Party has not committed to increasing funding for local authorities. 

 

This Council believes that:

  • Cuts to the government grants provided to local authorities must be reversed by the new government in order to sufficiently fund growing demand for key services such as adult social care. 
  • Without adequate funding, the increased financial pressure from increased demand for these services is likely to have serious negative financial implications for local authorities and Bristol City Council.
  • As well as increased funding, the UK government and local authorities must commit to improving the working conditions of social workers.
  • The Ethical Care Charter is essential to ensuring that employment conditions do not routinely short change clients and ensure the recruitment and retention of a more stable workforce through more sustainable pay, conditions and training levels.

 

This Council resolves to:

  • Write to the Newly elected Prime Minister, the Chancellor and relevant Ministers of State to call for an end to local government austerity and a significant and substantial investment in local government and public services. This will include a call for a sustained uplift to local authority funding to cover shortfalls in adult social care, education and other key services. It will also include an ask to provide multi-year funding settlements. 
  • Work with providers to implement the Ethical Care Charter within the term of current contracts and to fully implement the Foundation Living Wage when central government grants and funding allow.
  • Continue with our adult social care transformation project to ensure we are providing the best care and value to all Bristol residents. 

 

Motion submitted by: Cllr Rob Bryher, Cllr Lisa Stone and Cllr Lorraine Francis 

 

Date of submission: 27th June 2024

 

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SILVER MOTION (Labour): Ending Violence Against Women and Girls

 

This Council notes:

1.      The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that almost one in three women aged 16-59 will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime; that two women a week in England and Wales are killed by a current or former partner; that over half a million women are raped or sexually assaulted each year; and a YouGov poll shows that a third of girls have experienced sexual harassment in schools.

2.      Latest estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed that 4.4% of people aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the year-ending March 2023 and 2.1% of people aged 16 years and over had experienced sexual assault in the last year.

3.      That women and girls from marginalised groups are disproportionately affected. For example, statistics show that more than one in four lesbian women report at least one form of domestic abuse since the age of 16. Prevalence rates of domestic abuse may be higher for trans people than any other section of the population.

4.      Disabled women are twice as likely to experience domestic violence and sexual violence than non-disabled women.

5.      Adverse Childhood Experiences have lasting impacts on health and wellbeing and other negative adult outcomes.

 

This Council believes:

1.      Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) should be a priority for Bristol City Council.

2.      Ending VAWG requires a sustained, proactive, and multipronged approach that recognises VAWG as both a cause and consequence of women’s inequality, that will involve working across communities, schools, specialist organisations and policing.

3.      We must seek to change the culture that underpins and normalises VAWG and consider how the council can influence and affect change more widely by example.

4.      Any approach to addressing VAWG must be inclusive and recognise the way that intersecting inequalities and identities can compound experiences of violence and present additional barriers to accessing justice and support.

This Council resolves:

1.      To call on the Leader of the Council and Policy Committee chairs to make a firm commitment to keep work to ending VAWG on the council’s policy agenda.

2.      To call on the Leader of the Council to ensure that all Bristol City Council councillors and staff are trained in recognising the signs of domestic abuse and responding to disclosures of domestic and sexual violence.

3.      To call on Policy Committee chairs to include focus and investment in VAWG prevention work, wherever possible, and call on the Finance Sub-committee to protect council funding for specialist services.

4.      To work with the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner to keep VAWG at the top of the policing agenda.

5.      To call on the relevant Policy Committee Chair(s) to work with the City Office to develop strategies with partnership organisations tackling VAWG.

6.      To provide an annual update to Full Council on the council and its partners work on tackling VAWG in Bristol.

 

Submitted by: Councillors Kerry Bailes (Labour Party)

Submitted: 27 June 2024

 

 

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